Newport council gets update on 19th Street Bridge plan

NEWPORT BEACH The Orange County Transportation Authority's plan to delete the 19th Street Bridge from its highways master plan is inching forward now that the cities and agencies that have been at odds over the bridge proposal are in talks about other measures to handle traffic issues, officials said.

The City Council received an update Tuesday night from city staff about developing talks among Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, the county, OCTA and Caltrans concerning how to deal with increased traffic if the 1,375-home Banning Ranch project is constructed.

While Huntington Beach and Costa Mesa opposed the bridge, the OCTA board voted to suspend a decision to delete the bridge from the Master Plan of Arterial Highways after a legal threat from Newport in May. According to city staff, the OCTA has hired a traffic consultant to update the traffic analysis to address the removal of the bridge from the county's master plan.

Dave Webb, the deputy public works director, said in July that a task group was formed that included the cities and agencies to look at different mitigation measures.

"As they bring the results we'll have to identify and agree on the mitigations we think are appropriate," he said.

Webb said the group is also hoping to establish an agreement among the three cities, the county and the OCTA by October at the latest.

He said Caltrans would not likely be involved in the agreement because they are not directly affected by the removal of the bridge.

Robert Graham, a Costa Mesa resident who attended the meeting, said there is still support for the bridge in his city, despite the fact that officials voted to oppose it.

"I'd like to try and muster support in Costa Mesa to give you some confidence to keep this door open to getting this done," he said.

The council did not comment.

Prevailing wage exemption

A vote on a city staff proposal to exempt locally funded construction projects in the city was continued after a local trade group asked the city for time to go over the proposal.

The proposal would allow the city to exempt companies from paying workers the state's required prevailing wages or basic union rates.

The decision to exempt companies from the requirement could result in significant savings for the city because companies would have to factor in reduced labor costs when they bid for projects.

On Tuesday, City Manager Dave Kiff requested the item be postponed until Sept. 25 after the Building Trades Council of Los Angeles and Orange County requested more time to meet with staff about the matter. The council granted his request.

Newport Beach is a charter city, which allows its laws to supersede state law if it involves "municipal affairs." While locally funded projects would be exempt from prevailing wage requirements projects that use federal or state dollars would not be exempt.

Marina Park

The city voted again to approve a Coastal Land Use Plan amendment to allow for 71- to 73-foot lighthouse structure for the Marina Park project.

The council already approved it, but the city had failed to give enough notice for the vote.

The project, estimated to cost $25 million, would include an 11,000-square-fooot community center, a 13,000-square-foot sailing center, a restroom with a 35-foot lighthouse aesthetic feature and park space. The site is on about 10 acres on the bay side of the peninsula, between 19th and 15th streets.

The lighthouse proposal still has to go back to the California Coastal Commission, which will make the final determination on the tower feature before the city moves ahead with construction of the project.

Police managers

The council also voted to approve a Memorandum of Understanding with the city's police managers.

The agreement will save the city nearly $40,000, according to city staff. It will run through Dec. 31, 2014.

The agreement changes pension plans for newly hired police managers. New hires will now be able to retire at age 55 with 3 percent of salary for each year worked (up to 90 percent). A manager's pensionable salary will be based on an average of his or her highest three years of compensation, instead of just the highest salary year.

Current managers can retire at age 50 with 90 percent of their final-year salary.

The agreement increases employee contributions to pensions but increases salaries and medical benefits and includes a cost-of-living adjustment.

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